PLASA09: Roland M48 Personal Monitor Mixer

The RSS division is not as those of you with long memories might recall anything to do with the RSS surround technology that had a brief moment in the spotlight from the early 1990s, no it's the Roland Systems Group, dedicated to performance audio and video and installation.

The V-Mixing system is a digital live mixing console, stagebox and signal distribution technology, with audio and control working on a single network cable rather than the monster multicore cables that are traditionally used for signal cable runs.

At this show we saw the introduction of the new M-48 Live Personal Mixer. This little chap takes power up to 40 channels into 16 groups of signal over the same CAT 5 REAC cable from either the main console, such as the M-400 or new rackmount M-380 or directly via a Digital Snake stage box.

A theoretically unlimited number of units can be connected allowing each band member to create their own specific monitor mix. Level, pan, EQ and reverb settings are all stored either locally on the M-48 in one of 16 presets or can be controlled remotely via a central PC.

The audio outputs are available on headphones or as a stereo TRS out for connection to powered wedges. A built in limiter keeps the ears protected if using in-ears or headphones for monitoring.

I had a play with this while the Roland house band (nice work btw) performed, and found it really simple and intuitive to use. The mixer interface could be something that small format digital console manufacturers could learn a thing or two from.